Open your hearts this holiday season by helping families in
need. Ladue News is partnering with CATHOLIC CHARITIES to help
needy children and their families experience the joys of the
season. From now until Tuesday, Dec. 20, LN is accepting children’s
toys and books, as well as non-perishable food items. All will be
donated to Catholic Charities, an organization that touches the
lives of 157,000 every year. Items may be dropped off during normal
business hours at Ladue News, 8811 Ladue Road, Ste. D, 63124 (near
170 and Ladue Road).

There’s a new winter destination in town: THE RINK AT MONSANTO
GROVE at Peabody Opera House is now open. Ice skating against the
Opera House as a backdrop is available seven days a week, with
skate rentals, music, light food and drinks also offered onsite.
The rink will remain open through Jan. 16.

Kirkwood H.S. grad and chef-in-training BRODY KAMPSHROEDER says
he loves every aspect of going to work. He’s serving a three-year
internship at the Saint Louis Club under the renowned PIERRE
CHAMBRIN, who formerly served as White House chef to presidents
GEORGE H.W. BUSH and BILL CLINTON. He reports to work six days a
week, honing his skills at different stations in the kitchen. While
at Kirkwood, Kampshroeder participated in the Alternatives Towards
Learning and Success (ATLAS) program, which helps struggling
students to achieve academic success and graduate. He also
completed the culinary arts program at South Technical H.S. At the
end of his internship, Kampshroeder is guaranteed a job in either
New York or California.

Red-hot Redbird DAVID FREESE served as a presenter during the
recent 45th annual Country Music Association Awards (CMAs) in
Nashville. There, he encountered fellow St. Louisan LAURA
GREENSPAN, who graduated from MICDS in 2005. Greenspan is now with
Sony Music Nashville as a marketing/ sales analyst.

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE researchers have
received an $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health
to study asthma and allergies. Much of the research will focus on
understanding the role of the barrier functions of the skin, gut
and airway in asthma and allergic diseases to help prevent and
treat respiratory illnesses in the future.

A first-of-its-kind children’s therapy room is now at MERCY,
thanks to a generous donation from VARIETY THE CHILDREN’S CHARITY.
The Mercy Snoezelen Multi-Sensory Room, located in the hospital’s
Behavioral Health building, is a safe and non-threatening
environment for kids hospitalized with physical, mental and
emotional disabilities. It contains a specialized selection of
sensory equipment, including a floor water panel, interactive
bubble tube, fiber optic spray, disco ball, Milky Way carpet and
more.